The Settle
April 18, 2010 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
My business is change facilitation and my sport is rowing. I’ve learned a lot about both from cox’ns who provide the inspiration for this 4th in a series of four posts about change leadership using social business initiatives as an example.
The first 3 posts were about:
- Shifting the vantage point through willingness, not willfulness.
- Releasing the fairy tale and attendant story-lines identified with what’s non-integral and non-sustainable.
- Creating the conditions in which innovation and productive friction can take place by embracing different perspectives and individual lenses on the new direction.
This post is about execution and action which require one of the most important parts of a race or practice that the cox calls: the settle. A lot of business leaders get this wrong. They launch a new project with a racing start and push everyone to hold that pace indefinitely. But its the settle that results in purposeful attention, high quality and finding the optimal rhythm together. Just like in the racing shell.
Like cox’ns, business leaders facilitate the shift from urgent desire to unity and trust, through giving the right feedback at the right time. Doing so requires a multi-dimensional awareness, what you and your team sense, feel, believe and embody..not just what you know or want.
The settle can’t be confused with settling for less because its a moment by moment refusal to be less, especially when it hurts. It must be understood as the collective action that creates shared responsibility for aligning with the desired results. In social business, those desired results are some form of creating natural influence in your communities and networks and with your audience.
If you lead like a cox’n, that natural influence could show up as gold.
The Enlightened Idea Wiki
February 21, 2010 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
We had an interesting and provocative discussion this week at Samadhi about the intersection of the evolution of media and the evolution of consciousness. It also turned out to be one of those times, when out of the blue and unexpectedly I got what I describe as “jacked up by the Field”.
I’ve found that philosophical discussions and meetups requiring rigor, have huge benefits for professionals and content creators in the change business, including:
- Linking and integrating ideas, solutions and content that seemed mutually exclusive.
- Bringing unconscious beliefs contradicting ideas, solutions and content, into awareness.
As I developed the post, the “enlightened idea wiki” came up and I think it has a lot of potential as a both a practice and content structure and model.
This is how it evolved. I’d recently spent a lot of time developing a presentation about models for professional service providers and content creators. The focus of the presentation is: The Credit. So when I read this NYT article, Author, 17, Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism, it brought up a good deal of righteous indignation that I was happy to share with others in my social communities who felt the same way, especially about her specific quote:
“There’s no such thing as originality anyway, just authenticity,” – Helene Hegemann
It felt so good and so right to rip into this with so many people who agreed with me.
Flash forward to the meetup. The discussion was preceded with a meditation and then a reading of an EnlightenNext Magazine column, Awakening to the blob, inspired by Mediated, Thomas de Zengotita. A quote from the book via the reading:
In a mediated world, the opposite of real isn’t phony or illusional or fictional—it’s optional. Idiomatically, we recognize this when we say, “the reality is…” meaning something that has to be dealt with, something that isn’t an option. We are most free of mediation, we are most real, when we are at the disposal of accident and necessity. That’s when we are not being addressed.
My unexpected lesson from the Field was hearing this young, intelligent writer’s honest expression of her vantage point with respect to de Zengotita’s work.
I discovered that terms and concepts actually exist to describe the experience of growing up in the postmodern era. I discovered that we are living in a mediated world, and I am a mediated girl.
Suddenly my righteous indignation about the 17 year old “mixing not plagiarizing” author seemed out of whack from the vantage point of my greater self who “meets” people where they are and without judgment. I realized that How Dare You! was my ego’s voice, justifying my resistance to a vantage point that threatened mine. That was an important shift.
A wiki post is a lot of work but I recommend creating one, maybe once a quarter. Here’s why. Like a great visual it takes a lot of seemingly disconnected, linear, small things and gives them form and expression in a way that adds dimension and artistic expression to your ideas, solutions and content.
Isn’t that a better use of your time than a quarterly plan?
Defining Moments
November 15, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
Something was triggered in me after reading about the trail of evidence on Major Hasan and the Fort Hood tragedy, and how its linked to a growing self-radicalization trend.
It reminded me of a workshop I attended in which Laura Whitworth opened with the importance of the defining moments of our lives. She shared that one of hers was that she ran away from home at age 17. Since I’d done the same I figured we’d have a shared bond but when I talked to her about it there was no spark of shared understanding between us all.
I realized that the big actions and events of our lives, good or bad, affect us but don’t define us. They’re responses to change that happen after we make inner shifts, the real defining moments that take place in a blink of an eye. They’re defining, because we create our reality, making choices to grow or protect and subsequently forming complex belief systems to reinforce those choices, from that shifted identity.
Unconsciousness about, or denial of our free will and responsibility for the defining shifts of our life experience, limit our creative power and reinforce a sense of powerlessness. Its not so difficult to understand the extremes, the distortions and the self-radicalization examples that lead to oppression, violence and tragedies.
The challenge is in sensing it, in ourselves and others, in our everyday personal and business interactions, particularly when we meet resistance to change head-on. If there’s even a slim glimmer of willingness to accept co-creative responsibility then there’s opportunity to examine individual and collective (culture) belief systems to determine if they’re aligned with what is wanted in a changed world.
Clearly, this won’t be accomplished with a stick. What’s not so clear is: what does the new carrot look like?
Rigor – Its a Challenge
October 22, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
Rigor: The “R” in DRIVE
One of the 5 elements of the RedShift DRIVE Self-Awareness and Change Leadership Model, and key to shifting identity in the logical/philosophical dimension, is Rigor.
Good consultants, coaches and facilitators know that the likelihood of lasting change increases when people find their own answers, decisions and solutions with our help. But what’s less evident is that a rigorous inquiry process, necessary to bringing a hidden belief into the light of awareness, can provoke strong, negative reactions. That’s because every belief that contradicts growth and development has hidden trade-offs and payoffs.
For example, a client may be willing to examine the belief that, despite evidence of an increasing shift to social business, as the seller, he or she has the power over the buyer. The client may grudgingly admit to the cost of the trade-offs of delaying or rejecting social business. Examples of these trade-offs are: late adoption, behind the learning curve, limited customer intelligence, risk of losing market share, lack of social community experience, etc. Consultants generally make recommendations that address the trade-offs. But the results of those recommendations, if implemented, get to the low-hanging fruit and result in incremental change at best or no lasting change at all.
Rigorous inquiry uncovers the payoff. In the example, the payoff to believing in business as usual, “we have the power”, could be individual or organizational self-preservation that mandates total control, invulnerability, and holding all the cards close. In other words, its the contradiction of social business.
There’s a logic to the payoff and its underlying beliefs. Acknowledging that logic is a more effective approach to helping people with change than pointing out its wrongness. Its not the easy path because individual or cultural emotional response to uncovering the payoff can be extreme resistance. Consultants who are fearless and patient enough to hold that space for clients to work through their resistance will recommend the transformational change befitting clients who can finally let go of the payoff that once served them well, but that did so in a world that no longer exists.
Discernment – Its An Honor
October 18, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
Discernment: The “D” in DRIVE
One of the 5 requisites of the RedShift DRIVE Self-Awareness and Change Leadership Model, and key to shifting identity in the meta-cognitive dimension, is Discernment.
Question Knowledge
Our default response is to form opinions and make personal, professional and business decisions based upon what we know: what’s worked or failed in the past, what we’ve read, heard, learned and been advised about by experts. What’s still often ignored is a sense response to subtle yet profound shifts and getting at “what we don’t know we don’t know” or “what we know but don’t know we know”.
I recently observed an example in a growing company in crisis due to lack of available financing in the current credit crunch. The management team’s opinion was that securing venture financing was the only way to survive. The founder/CEO wanted to hang on and self-fund in spite of looming insolvency rather than give up control and ownership. Months of endless meetings, opinions and arguments led to deadlock because there was no framework for knowledge awareness. Both sides were totally convinced of and attached to the rightness of their respective knowledge so could not brainstorm any breakthrough short-term, or transformational long-term, ideas.
These kinds of scenarios are played out every day as individuals and organizations try to figure out “where do we, or I, go from here?” The answer doesn’t seem to be more knowledge and advice, but rather a facilitated process to uncover the logic and truth driving every opinion and to examine if those beliefs hold true or need to be changed or replaced. The prerequisite for questioning knowledge is the agreement to suspend judgment and will. Those who refuse to learn and practice these skills will become increasing ineffective in the decision making, problem solving and innovation process.
Trust Intuition
Here’s a new way to think about lead generation: make yourself a funnel for your intuitive leads, pay attention and act on them without hesitation. As metaphysician Florence Scovel Shinn taught “Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way.” To better discern among myriad choices, change responses and scenarios why not just ask for leads from a higher intelligence that’s always available and take it from there?
Honor Creative Power
Although we emphasize it more, we still tend to think about creative in terms of talent and visible output where team stars rise to the top and good managers find, cultivate and retain the stars for competitive advantage. That’s how organizations and teams succeed. But is it the only way to discern success?
I was recently part of a team of 8 women who got together to row in the Head of the Charles in a very competitive event. We had less than a month to organize and practice a few times but it quickly became apparent that there was a special dynamic among us. It was about more than appreciation for each others’ experience, talent, commitment and training. There was no “rah rah” about what we could achieve and there was no resentment about problems that came up or a result that was disappointing. It was bigger than any of that. It was about honoring our power to create an experience that served our greater selves. It seemed to arise naturally out of appreciation and gratitude for each other, the sport, the river, the rowing community and beyond.
Discernment is about what to yes to and what to say no. These decisions are shaped by our expectations about the (usually quantifiable) results we want from ourselves or our team. Self-aware teams will achieve so much more through honoring their creative power and achieving the possibly immeasurable result of natural influence.
From Anticipation to Poise
October 1, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
Its encouraging to read about emerging change leadership models where the emphasis is shifted from reaction to anticipation. But I think poised for change is a better approach than anticipation of change, and my daily rowing provides a great metaphor for why.
The photo shows the rowers at what is typically called the catch, when the oars go into the water at the right time and place, and in the right way, relative to many variables, all of which are continually changing. Doing it right used to mean anticipating the rowing catch. Our coach Gordon’s approach is more current and cutting edge. Gordon doesn’t call it the catch, which implies “something to do”, but calls it the entry, for which you need only to be poised.
That poise requires stability, stillness, relaxation and deep breathing in addition to the obvious physical strength, conditioning, technique and training required to excel at rowing. Anticipation is contraindicated because it translates to “make it happen” and results in interference with the natural laws of motion and force involved in the rowing stroke. The more you anticipate, the less efficiently you move the boat. Poise, on the other hand, is a “let it happen” approach, through which the rower naturally and positively influences boat speed.
Gordon coaches us to be still and quiet and let the riggers glide past us. Practicing this “non-resistance” rowing technique, I often think of meta physician Florence Scovel Shinn’s truth statement: “Man must live suspended in the moment.”
Anyone in a change leadership position, from the solo service provider to the CEO of large organization will more efficiently direct business response to change by shifting from an anticipatory to a poised state. But it doesn’t work if its just a role, no matter how seriously its played. Poise, and its underlying qualities and requirements need to be embodied in order to create natural influence as a change leader.
Recently, I mentioned to Gordon that my improved confidence comes from consistency through hundreds of miles of practice. And that poise and consistency has made me more competitive, not less. The only thing that’s lessened is the stress that previously accompanied my competitive rowing and racing.
Are you creating stress and resistance in yourself and others to gain or maintain competitive advantage? Suffering is always the best indicator of the need for a shift from “make it happen” to “let it happen”.
I Coulda Been An Intender
September 11, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
The prevailing sentiment in response to massive change shifts we’re experiencing reminds me of the great scene from On The Waterfront.
The main character, Terry Mallow, played by Marlon Brando, is a dockworker mixed up in waterfront crime. He’s also a washed up fighter who, on his brother Charley’s instructions, threw a fight he could’ve won, to rig the odds for the mob/union boss. Later, Terry considers risking his life to testify against the mob, and his brother Charley tries to bribe and then threaten him about that choice. The famous scene plays out when Terry reminds his brother, that if he’d looked out for him and not pushed him to fix the fight “I coulda been a contender” and not just a bum with a one-way ticket to Palookaville.
What we get now, in similarly challenging times, is pressure to contend, that is, to struggle, strive and compete for and against people, things and situations. For the contender, perceived failure or loss leads to regret, guilt, despair and rage. The media and those who give advice for a living, love it. We’re bombarded with information that suggest that to survive we must contend.
But its a failure response to change.
Giving oneself over to contending is a form of hubris that leads to more suffering when we delude ourselves that we can change things through our force of will or stop change through the force of our resistance. Change is life. When we refuse to contend we align with life, with the infinite outcome probabilities available in every moment and with a guiding force that Einstein described as a friendly universe that’s on our side.
We’re witnessing the pressure to contend in the public and political battle over health care reform. The issues got obfuscated by the judgments about President Obama’s bi-partisan response to the opposition. He was increasingly called weak and ineffective, by even his most ardent supporters. Yet he refused to contend and instead consistently intended unity. Wherever you stand on the issues, there’s no mistaking the power of a leader who speaks from his or her personal truth and integrity. That power came through in the president’s recent health care reform address.
Contend implies against; intend implies toward. Its not to say that to contend is a bad thing, but from a Buddhist perspective to not contend means less suffering.
Yet we can learn through suffering as the Marlon Brando character learned in the story. We always have access to our voice of truth, exemplified in the movie by Father Barry, played by Karl Malden. Despite Terry’s furious screaming “its none of your business”, the priest convinces Terry that he can avenge his brother’s murder through the truth in a courthouse, not by “firing lead into another man’s flesh”. In other words, don’t give them what they want. Don’t contend.
For too long now, we’ve been telling our true self and inner voice: its none of your business. But we had it backwards and we’re now beginning to see more clearly that its never been our business. I think Emerson was speaking of our hubris, and that we think we know more than Nature and she says to us, “So hot? my little Sir.”
More than ever, it takes vigilance, diligence and courage to refuse the temptation to contend. Going against the status quo can mean rejection and even retribution. But when they called Terry a rat, he responded that he’d been ratting on himself for years. When we stop doing that, we may find that Palookaville is not as bad as anticipated and a gateway to what we want, the equivalent, or something even better.
Compared to What?
June 3, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
Someone I’m close to who’d been upset about her 401k losses, said she’s now feeling a lot better about it. The reason: everyone else has lost the same percentage, so its relative.
Its an interesting exercise to notice how much of our thinking is relative. By relative I mean judging and responding to the events in our personal and business lives in comparison to others’ lives, or in comparison to our own lives, as we remember or anticipate them. This occurs so frequently that its considered natural. But when you challenge it in yourself, and in your organization and culture, you become aware of the negative results that follow:
- scarcity – more for you means less for me
- exclusiveness – keeping you / them out
- superiority / inferiority
- withholding / protectiveness
Transformational change takes place at least partially in the absolute, where no boundaries exist between or among us. Social business models and tools provide a great staging area for personal and organizational transformation but only if there’s willingness to be conscious of, and to act upon what’s true for and in us all.
Hedging Life
April 19, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
The recent results on ongoing genome studies, report that they have far less predictive value than believed, or as one geneticist commented “The information has little or in many cases no clinical relevance.”
So this is my layperson’s oversimplified, reading between the lines interpretation: the genome race is largely based on building complex risk models using shaky data. The industries and businesses that use these models make their revenue and profit by selling products and services that hedge health risks that probably don’t exist because the models are bogus.
For me, as I read this, there’s an eerie sense of similarity to the hubris-driven financial industries that pushed the global economy off a cliff “because we can”. One can imagine a human DNA Ponzi scheme.
Bill Clinton eloquently warns us “Don’t bet against America.” We need to go further. We need to stop betting against nature with our scientific and technological advancements and use these gifts with reverence to advance our civilization.
Many would shoot down reverent capitalism as an oxymoron. I’m not buying it, and neither is nature.
Getting People To Use Sharepoint
March 4, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter · Comments Off
When I was putting together the accompanying slides, a Seth Godin post kept popping into mind. This blog post was about email marketing, with and without permission. What stuck with me was his analogy that without permission, a marketer interrupts him at his email, which is where he lives, all day.
A powerful image. 
What must it feel like, I thought, for an employee who will need to change to a system like Sharepoint, that bypasses not just email, but also the personalized explorer and file storage system relied upon for years, or longer. It could feel much worse than being interrupted at home, and more like a home invasion.
That could a good place to start if you’re failing in your efforts to get more people using Sharepoint. Resistant peoples’ responses to change will be different, including: protectiveness, skepticism and abject fear. But those who are resistant will need time, space and your leadership skills and natural influence to get from where they are (home!) to where you want and need them to be. And that is the place of willingness.
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The RedShift Web Site Pages and the corresponding Blog: Creating Natural Influence, do not enable comments. I'm more comfortable getting feedback on social sites than here, where the work is so close to who I am, where I've been and where I'm going. If you have a comment or question, or would like to suggest a topic for an upcoming blog article, please contact me. Thank you.
